


unsteady

by reystars



Category: The Punisher (TV 2017)
Genre: Against a Wall, Angst, F/M, First Kiss, listen I can't handle the tension in the trailers anymore okay, slightly nsfw makeout session
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-15
Updated: 2017-11-15
Packaged: 2019-02-02 18:18:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,200
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12731778
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reystars/pseuds/reystars
Summary: Karen’s heart is finally starting to beat normally again when she hears the doorknob move. She’s not sure how long she’s been here, minutes, hours, when the door bangs open. Startled, she stumbles to her feet, one hand on the wall behind her as she loses her balance. Her body is in fight or flight mode instantly until the figure in the doorway takes form and it’s Frank.“Where the hell did you go?”At first she thinks it’s anger in his low, gruff voice, but as he comes closer to her, she’s shocked that all she sees in his eyes is frantic panic. His eyes are feverishly scanning her for visible injury, and then he’s standing right in front of her.[Frank loses track of Karen after an explosion and finds her at his place. His emotions come to the surface. One shot.]





	unsteady

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote 1.2K words of this instead of catching up on my NaNoWriMo so I'm counting it toward my word count... that's not cheating, right? Dedicated to Elisa for helping feed my Kastle addiction.

            Karen’s hands are shaking so hard she has to slowly sink to the ground and wrap them around her knees to try to get them to stop. She knows she has blood on her, somewhere, and she knows that she’ll be in pain, a lot of it, when the adrenaline stops. Every time she closes her eyes she hears gunshots and screams and bright flashes of light. And every few moments she suddenly can’t breathe, the situation washing over her all over again.

            She finally lets a tiny whimper escape the back of her throat that echoes through the dark, empty apartment. She hadn’t even bothered to turn the lights on as she’d entered, fumbling with the keys that didn’t belong to her but that she’d taken anyway. Keys she uses to check in on him, to make sure he hasn’t gotten himself killed out there in a way that she’d never find out about, left hanging off a cliff for the rest of her life.

            She’s never been here alone. The place is old, and ratty, and incredibly impersonal. Through the orange streetlight shining through the window she can barely make out Frank’s bed, a single pillow and sheet thrown on it. A bedside table, empty. He’s been living here for months and it barely looks lived in.

            Karen’s heart is finally starting to beat normally again when she hears the doorknob move. She’s not sure how long she’s been here, minutes, hours, when the door bangs open. Startled, she stumbles to her feet, one hand on the wall behind her as she loses her balance. Her body is in fight or flight mode instantly until the figure in the doorway takes form and it’s Frank.

            “Where the hell did you go?”

            At first she thinks it’s anger in his low, gruff voice, but as he comes closer to her, she’s shocked that all she sees in his eyes is frantic panic. His eyes are feverishly scanning her for visible injury, and then he’s standing right in front of her.

            Karen opens her mouth to respond to his question, but whatever she’s going to say is lost because his eyes have settled on hers. He lifts his hand to gently take her chin to look at her face. She knows now there are cuts there, she can feel them. His fingertips are callused but his touch is light, as if he’s afraid he’ll break her. Karen reaches up her own hand, taking his, pulling it away from her face.

            “Frank, I’m fine,” she says, her voice comes out stronger than she feels. “I ran, okay? I ran straight here.”

            Frank glances up and away from her, sticking his hands in his pockets. But all it takes is one more look at her.

“I’m sorry,” Karen says, and suddenly his arms are wrapping themselves around her, pulling her in. Karen doesn’t move for a moment, it’s not until Franks head burrows into her neck with a shudder that she wraps her arms around his back and closes her eyes.

            He’s shaking, she can feel it, and he doesn’t say anything for a long time, just holds her against him. She can feel his heart pounding hard and fast through his chest, the shortness of his hot breath as it tosses the hairs near her ear.

            His voice is low, and husky.

            “I thought you were gone.”

            He doesn’t say the exact words, but she knows what he means.

            A moment later his grip finally loosens, Karen pulls back slightly, but not completely out of his embrace. She settles a hand on his chest.

            “Frank,” she whispers. Her eyes flick up to meet his. He’s staring at her, that intense, fixed stare that he always has, but in his eyes there’s something else. A plea. Leaving her hand on his chest, Karen raises her other hand and places it on his jaw, rubbing her thumb over the stubble there. Frank’s face drifts closer to hers. It’s an invisible line she’s walking on, thin and easily breakable, like the tension in the room is about to snap and shatter the walls between them.

            He’s slow and hesitant despite his rapid breathing and the closer he gets, Karen finds her lips parting, her neck arching, her eyes closing. She’s ready for it, his lips on hers, when he pauses.

            “Karen,” he breathes, his face almost touching hers. She can feel his breath on her lips. “Are you sure…”

            She cuts him off by sliding her hand up around the back of his neck and pulling him that last inch, closing the space, his mouth on hers.

            The hunger hits her like a pile of bricks and it must hit him too because suddenly her back is pushed up against the wall and he’s kissing her so ferociously that her heart stops and restarts. She’s reminded of how strong he is as his hands move up to her hair, cradling the back of her neck.

            Once she realizes she’s solid enough against the wall to lift her legs, she hooks them around his waist, bringing their hips together. She’s not expecting it, but she feels a moan escape his mouth against her lips. She finally has a moment to catch her breath when he begins to kiss down her neck. She digs her nails into her palms and bites her lips as he sucks at the soft part of her neck.

            He freezes suddenly, at her shoulder.

            “You’re hurt,” he says, his tone serious. Disappointment wavers through her as her feet touch the ground. She looks at her shoulder as he gently brushes her hair out of the way. It’s a deep gash, bleeding through her shirt. He places his hand behind her neck, touching his forehead to hers, closing his eyes.

            “We can’t do this,” he says. Karen closes her eyes too.

            “I know.”

            “I can’t put you in any more danger than you’re already in.”

            “I know.”

            There’s silence for a moment, before Karen speaks again.

            “I don’t care.”

            They break apart, looking at each other for a moment longer. They’re both breathing heavily still, and Karen’s eyes are a challenge and an invitation. Whatever line they’d been treading, it was breached now. Frank’s eyes glance at her lips one more time as he pulls away. The cold air of the room suddenly rushes in on Karen with the distance between them.

            “You are the only thing that matters to me, Karen,” he whispers, tucking his hands into the pocket of his black hoodie and refusing to look at her. In the time it takes her to blink, he’s gone, the door shutting behind him. Karen’s hands cover her face, where she can feel the ghost of his lips on hers, and she squeezes her eyes shut, sliding back down to the ground, resting her forehead on her knees.         

            Sometime later she finds herself wrapping herself in the single sheet on the bed without taking off her coat or her boots, falling into a restless sleep with her head on the pillow. It smells like him.

            His voice echoes into her dreamless sleep.

_You’re the only thing that matters to me, Karen_.

 


End file.
